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Popping the Cherry

Aurelia B. Rowl

Start date: September 19, 2013

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Book Talk

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By Aurelia · 2 posts · 2 views

last updated Jun 24, 2013 05:59AM

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What Members Thought

Apr 01, 2014 Alaine Batty rated it it was amazing

I loved this book, poor Lena and her good meaning friends.

Lena doesn't have much luck in her life 'romance wise' for bad dates or horrible guys - it's a wonder she didn't give up. I love the chemistry between Lena and Jake, more than once I groaned for Lena and wanted to shout at her as if she were real and a friend of mine.

I thought it would be another teen book but I was very surprised and loved the book, I would like for the book to have a few follow-ups though, both so we can see how far Len ...more

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Aug 04, 2013 Chris Mead rated it it was amazing

5+ Recommended Read

POPPING THE CHERRY is a stunning and brilliantly rendered tale of Valentina, a girl who is dying to fit in with all of her friends. Being the only virgin in the crowd has gotten old, so her friends come up with a plan to help her find the ideal guy to share her first time with. When the plan goes awry, Valentina almost gives up, until love finds her in the most unexpected place.

Valentina “Lena” Bell feels like a major disappointment. First she fails her driving test, and then ...more

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Oct 11, 2013 Emma Mills rated it really liked it

Popping the cherry is a light hearted teen romance with a deeper, darker underbelly. I thoroughly enjoyed it if at times I found the main character a little too irritating, allowing herself to be swayed by her friends. It's main theme (which is obvious from the title) makes the novel an upper end YA novel. I'd suggest Age 16+

The romance element is well thought out and had me as torn between the guys as Lena is herself! I love the British element, and the British slang. It feels real and believa ...more

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Sep 28, 2013 Bobbie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ukya

Ahh, this book was exactly what I needed. After trawling through a bunch of difficult fantasy novels, I was more than ready for this easy-to-read, light-hearted bit of contemporary romance. It was so nice reading a Brit book too - the voice is so different to a US one, but I often forget just how much difference it makes, what with the market being flooded with US fiction. As I'm taking part in the British Books Challenge this year though, I'm doing my best to read and plug as many good UKYA boo Ahh, this book was exactly what I needed. After trawling through a bunch of difficult fantasy novels, I was more than ready for this easy-to-read, light-hearted bit of contemporary romance. It was so nice reading a Brit book too - the voice is so different to a US one, but I often forget just how much difference it makes, what with the market being flooded with US fiction. As I'm taking part in the British Books Challenge this year though, I'm doing my best to read and plug as many good UKYA books as I can. Thankfully, books like Popping the Cherry make my job easy - as soon as I read it, I wanted to tell you all about it.

Lena is a great MC for starters. She's so blessedly normal. She's at college studying for her A-levels, but she doesn't really know what she wants to do. She has friends, but she's not uber-popular. She's not geeky, she's not beautiful, she doesn't have that much self-confidence but she's not a complete wall-flower. She's a virgin, which is kind of the point of the book, but she's not a prude. She has a great voice, and I loved reading her story.

Lucky Lena is also surrounded by a bevy of brilliant characters. Her group of friends are spot-on - I can just imagine those girls at college together, Rowl brings them all to life so well. Even the peripheral characters - the parents and other students - are excellently done. Some authors don't seem to realise the importance of secondary characters, but Rowl clearly does, and she does her job with aplomb. And then there's Jake. Ah, Jake. He's a builder by trade, he's 21, he's Lena's best friend Gemma's brother. There are so many reasons why he shouldn't work for Lena, somehow he does. He's not just a builder, he's a director of his father's company, and he's got vision. At that age, a few years difference is definitely a good thing in my mind - girls mature so much quicker than boys, that at 17, college boys are best avoided. The thorny issue of Gemma is more problematic. But is all this relevant anyway? Can Jake really be a contender for Lena's affections? He's definitely not on her cherry-popping list, so he's off-limits, right?

Rowl does breathless romance very well. There were so many moments in this book that had my stomach clenching, butterflies tripping around my insides. It really brought to life those heart-stoppingly awkward but beautiful moments when two people start to realise that there is something more between them than friendship. It's not plain-sailing by any means. Lena runs into more than her fair share of trouble, but luckily there's a certain someone there ready to act as knight-in-shining-armour. By the time I got to the end I was fairly screaming at the book to make it happen already, but that's all part of the fun. The ending itself was a little soppy, but in a nice way.

A perfect blend of teen issues and fun romance, Popping the Cherry is exactly my kind of book, and I hope it is yours too.

More reviews at http://escapeintowords.blogspot.co.uk ...more

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Aug 31, 2013 Nicola Nicholls rated it it was amazing

This kept me awake until gone 1am on a work night because I wanted her to scream and tell him she loved him!

Really good read that I couldn't put down. Only thing I'd of liked is a tiny bit less 'chase' and a bit more of the 'afterwards' but that's just because I'm an old romantic at heart :)

Another excellent book. Can't wait for your next! ...more

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Aug 03, 2013 Aurelia Rowl marked it as books-written-by-me · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, new-adult, romance, coming-of-age

Lena's story was such a pleasure to write, so I am delighted that she still has a part to play in the rest of the Facing the Music series. If you want to know what happens next for Lena, make sure you pick up A Girl Called Malice where she comes face-to-face once more, with Alice. ...more

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